Playing with eyes wide open, St. Petersburg Catholic takes a solid lead in the district standings.
By JOHN C. COTEY
Published October 16, 2004
ST. PETERSBURG - A week ago against Jesuit, St. Petersburg Catholic couldn't tackle. The Barons couldn't stop the run. They couldn't stop the pass.
They couldn't win.
This week, they could do all those things.
"We told them this week, let the Jesuit game be your wakeup call," said coach Dan Mancuso.
Ring-a-ling-a-ling-a-ding!
Behind a revived defense and a big-play offense that was also pretty efficient at the little play, the Barons beat archrival Clearwater Central Catholic 24-16, all but clinching the Class 2B, District 6 title.
The Barons only need to beat winless Tampa Catholic to secure the title and a home playoff game, while CCC now has to win at Sarasota Cardinal Mooney in two weeks to make the playoffs as a runnerup.
"Let them go down to Cardinal Mooney and play," Mancuso said. "I wish them luck, but now the onus is on them."
Primarily because Friday night the Marauders were unable to stop the Barons when they had their chances. On numerous occasions a Baron runner, usually Jock Sanders (98 yards rushing), would appear bottled up five yards behind the line of scrimmage before squirting free for a gain.
"We were there all night," said CCC coach Mike Jalazo. "We didn't tackle. We haven't tackled well all year. If you don't against a team like this, you're going to lose."
Leading 3-0 in the first quarter behind the running of Paul Raven, CCC's Riley Cooper picked off SPC quarterback Billy Tapp near the goal line and ran it back 97 yards for an apparent touchdown.
However, even though no one was within 20 yards of Cooper, the Marauders were called for a block in the back, sending the CCC sideline into histrionics.
Settling for the ball at the 34, CCC lost six yards in four plays as quarterback Andrew Nowels was sacked by Joey Yanchunis on fourth down.
On the next play Rashad Etheridge ran 60 yards - shaking off two would-be tacklers in the backfield - to put the Barons ahead.
Instead of a 10-0 lead, CCC trailed the rest of the way.
"Unbelievably huge," Jalazo said. "It was a huge momentum swing."
Cooper, who had another interception later, made an acrobatic catch and ran 67 yards for a touchdown to make it 24-16 with three minutes left. But it was the only CCC drive of the second half that didn't end with an interception or fourth down sack as the Barons defense, fully awakened by the loss to Jesuit, rose to the challenge.
